Cork-rod expeller



B'. NAGY CORK ROD EXPELLER Fi1ed`Apri1 9. 192s 2 Sheets-Sheet Jan. 7, 1930.

Jan. 7, 1.930. I B. NAcY` 1,742,316

CORK ROD EXPELLER Y Filed April 9. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 7,4 1930 ,y UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE CORK-ROD EXPELLER Application filed April 9,

This invention relates to machines for ejecting cork-rods from the tubes in which they are produced.

As is well known, the cork discs to be used in the manufacture of crown corks for the closure of bottles of liquid are sliced or cut olf by suitable mechanism from cork-rods pre-` pared of comparatively cheap comminuted materials mixed with glue or other suitable adhesive.v Such mixture of con'nninuted cork material and adhesive is preferably stamped into an appropriate tube when preparing the cork rod and is tliereafteipermitted to dry or is even baked therein.

Considerable difficulty `has been experienced in the art inthe operations' for relnov.-

ing the ready cork rods from their tubes, and besides the slowness and awkwardness of the methods at present employed for this purpose, they are also expensive and apt to lcause faulty products and other losses.

The main obj ect of my invention is to provide a machine in which such cork rods may` be ejected from their tubes in an expedient, eiicient and easy manner.

' Another object of this invention is to provide a machine of the character specified which Willprovide means for easy` direct and smooth ejection of the cork rods so thatA breakage and other faults in the cork rods Will be totally avoidedj Still another object of this invention is to -provide a machine of the mentioned characteristics which Will be simple in construction, easy to operate and comparatively inexpensive to manufacture.

A further object of this invention is to provide acork rod expelling machine which at the same time Will automatically coat the cork rod expelled with a layer of parafiin and,

will also at the same time coat the'inside of the emptied tube, thereby making such a 'tube `more efficient for the next successive use of the same and also providing a highly desir- 45 able paraffin coating on. the outside of the cork discs to 'be produced from the rod and on their faces by the action of the disc slicing -tools carrying a circumferential paratlin coating over saidfaces.

. Other objects of this invention will be ap- 1928. Serial N0. 268,781.

polling cork rods;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same Fig. 3, is a fragmentary end view, While Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional elevation. the-section being taken on the line 1*-1 of Fig. 1 and showing the mechanisms used to drop an emptied tube and to support the next filled tube while this is taking place.

Like reference characters mark the same parts Wherever they occur in the drawings. Referring noivanore closely to the drawings by characters of reference, the numeral 10-indicates the main frame ofmy machine, in this embodiment itbeing a horizontally placed, U-shaped, steel form. l Appropriate legs 11 support this main frame atits jtwo l Aby tivo vertical sli'dable plates 1G at the tivo ends thereof, said parts .being adapted to slide in` an upward `or downward direction guided bythe bolts 17 and slots 18, said bolts being secured to Athe plates 16 and said slots being provided in a fixed cover plate 18a permanently secured to the. 'awardly bent ends 13 of the chute 13 by the bolts 18h. As

will be best seen in Fig. 1, the combined widths of the inwardly bent end 13c of the chute structure and of the sliding plate 16 are equivalent to the width of the plate 18a.

lfwo downwardly turned extensions 19 ai'e added to the chute structure, being only at the two ends ot' the saine and adapted to support a stack of tubes, but permitting the lowermost tube 14 toroll down on them and out of the machine when the closing plates 16 are drawn in an upward direction. To permanently guide the tubes 14 chute 13 has two vertical end walls 13, on a part of which the bent in portion 13c carries the plates 18, but underneath said inwardly turned flanges 13c and plates 18a there is a free space left, as indicated at 18C, to permit the removal of the lowermost tube when the plate 16 is drawn in au upward direction, as will be described presently, and for which purpose the upper ends of extensions 19 are provided wiih curved tube rest surfaces, as shown at 20.

The lowermost tube 14 is shown in a partly sectional view in Fig. 1, where it is indicated in the operation of being emptied of its cork rod. The tube 14LL is firmly placed between the two end flanges 13a of the chute 13 and it is in alignment with a plunger 22 designed to expel cork rod 21 from said tube. To permit the plunger to clearly pass through the tube 14, appropriate holes 13" are provided in the flanges 13a.

The plunger 22 is integral with .or is firmly secured to a longitudinally placed rack 23 adapted to slide in guides 24 on the front face of the frame 10. A-pinion 25 is engaging the rack,4 and its rotation in a right-hand or lefthand direction will drive the rack 23 and the plunger 22 in a left-hand, backward, or righthand, forward, direction. The shaft 26 carries the pinion 25 and, passing through the frame lo and being appropriately journalled therein, it carries a gear 27 on the rear side of the frame 10.

A second shaft 28 is further journalled in the frame 10 and has a second gear 29 fast thereto meshing with the gear 27. Shaft 28 is the main shaft of my device and receives the driving power thereof from a double belt drive, indicated in general by the numeral 30. Said belt drive includes a middle and narrower belt pulley 31 fast on said shaft and two wider pulleys 32 and 33 at the two sides thereof, said wider pulleys being loose on the shaft. Shaft 28 may be driven by either one of the belts 34 oi' 35, the former one being the direct drive, while in the latter the belt is crossed so that the two belts will drive, when acting upon the fast pulley 31, the shaft 28 in aright hand or in a left hand direction, according to the direction of rotation of the power shaft (not shown)l from which the belts are driven.

' The two belts are enclosed in catches 36 and stood, said rods being firmly supported in a backwardly projecting frame 40 and on the main frame 10, as at 41 and 42, respectively.

To control the forward and backward motions of the rack 23 and plunger 22, and also to release the empty tube and replace it by a new one, a main oi' master cam bar 43 is provided alongside and over the top of the frame 10, said bar is slidably supported on said frame in bearings 44 and carries a right hand limit arm 45 and a left hand limit arm 46 secured thereto, each projecting downwardly and in front of the frame 10 in the path of the rack 23. 'lhe limit 45 is provided to determine the right hand or forward movement of the plunger 22 after the tube in operation has been entirelyielieved of its cork rod. For this purpose it is placed in such a manner that it will be hit by the right hand end 23a ofthe rack 23 about the time when the emptying operation is finished, it will be carried some distance forward by the same and will carry the master cam bar with it in a right hand direction. Said master bar cairies a belt change member 47 which at the mentioned moment will reach the forward branch 48 of a belt changing fork 48, rockable on a pin '49 and adapted to move the belt frame 38 in a forward or backward direction through the intermediacy of arm 50 and link member 51, as will be understood. This will cause the cross belt 35 to be pushed from the fixed pulley 31 over to one of the idle pulleys 32, while the direct belt 34 is being pushed from the idle pulley 33 over on to saidiiaed pulley 31, the last step in this action being produced by the inherent inertia of the moving masses of the machine, neither belt being on the fixed pulley 31 foi` the moment of the actual change.

The right hand limit of the movement of the plunger having been reached the fork 48 will be turned by the limit 47 and the belts exchanged on the fixed pulley 31. Shaft. 28 will now be rotated in the reverse direction and the plunger 22 and rack 23 will move rearwardly. or in a left hand direction until the lowermost and emptied tube is entirely freed from the plunger22. About this moment the opposite limit 46 will be engaged by the left hand end 23h of the rack 23and the master bar 43 will be moved in the reverse left hand direction and the play of the belts reversed. A control plate 52 is secured to the master bar 43 as at 53 and engages the locking plate 16 by pins 54, secured into thelsaid plates 1G and movable in the slots 55 in said control plate 52.

When the master bar 43 is moved towards its left hand limit, bolt 54 will ride in the lower horizontal portions 55u of the slots 55, the lock plate 16 will be lowered as shown in Fig. 2 and the space 18c at the bottom `of the chute 13 closed, confining the lowermost tube therein ready to be operated on. vWhen, however, the bar 43 is moved to the right hand direction bolts 54 will ride in the upper horizontal branches h of the slots 55, plate 16 will be raised and will permit the lowermost and now emptied tube to drop out of the machine. To guide the control plate 52 and permit the described play of the bolts 54 the cover plates 18a are in reality made of the upper halves of 18 and the lower halves 18", the control plate 52 sliding therebetween in close contact with the closing plates 16.

The operation of my machine is as follows:

- Chute 13 is filled with a stack of tubes containing the composition cork rods baked therein by a well known process and dcsc'ribed in my co-pending application, Ser.

No. 188,460, filed May 3, 1927. The machine is set at the left hand limit of its motion, plunger 22 entirely clearing` the chute and the lowermost filled tube being in alignment with said plungers. The next movement of the machine will be in a right hand direct-ion and the plunger will pass through the lowermost tube by the medium of the left hand hole 13b and will push its cork rod 21 out of the same through the right hand hole 13" in the verticaljwalls of the chute 18. j

While this is goingon, closing plate 16 will be kept lowered by the slots 55 in the control plate 52 and Vin such a position as to confine the lowermost tube within the chute 13.

Plunger 22 having arrived to the limit ofits right hand movement, tube 14a will be entirely freed of its rod-21 and the reverse movement of the machine started as has been de scribed hereinbefore.l Slots 55 have now gradually raised the closing plates 16 and will finally permit the emptied tube 14a to be eX- pelled from the machine.

To facilitate this operation and also to support a stack of tubes 14 I employ a special mechanism which will now be described.

v The master bar 48 also operates said mechanism in the rear of my machine, generally inmachine.

dicated by the numeral (Figs. 1 and 4),-

which is calculated to support the stack of tubes while the lowermost of them, just having been emptied, is being dropped from the This mechanism includes a vertical tubular bearing member 61 secured to the frame 10, as at 62, andhaving a pin 63 rockable therein. Fast with the pin, at the top thereof, is a fork 64, adapted to be acted upon by a stop 65 on the master bar 43. `When the master bar is moved to the right hand limit, stop 65 will engage branch 64a of the fork 64 and will move the same towards the right. This will cause an arm 66 at the bottom of pin 63 to move in an inward direction and carry a longitudinal rod 67 with it, being connectedthereto by a pin 68 playing in a slot thereof, as shown.

Rod 67 is connected at its two ends to two transversal pins 69 slidable in housings 70 secured to the frame 10. The frame is bored Upon the return of the master bar 43 pins 69 will recede and will permit a new tube to drop intoA alignment with plunger 22, as will be understood, plates 1G closing the free space 18C by that' time and keeping the new'lowermost tube in its place.

It is also highly desirable in this art, that the cork rods should be coated with paraliin. For this purpose I may add a paraiin coating chamber 71 adjacent to and communicating withthe opening 13b Where the read rod 21 is being ejected. 4This chamber may have an 'inside open space 72 kept filled with molten paraiin and a final opening 73 where the rod 21 has to pass through, said opening preferably being lined with felt rings to wipeuoif the superfluous parafn. The paraiiin is kept heated ina container 74 secured to lthe front end of the machine and being heated by gas iames (not shown) or by any other appropriate means. A tube 75 leads the parain to a hole 76Ain the top of the chamber 7l, while the overflow and possible waste may be saved through the tubo 77. Not only the rods will be coated with paraihn, but the plunger 22 also, which at its end may carry a felt sleeve 78 adapted to enter at the end of every forward stroke the .chamber 71 and to gather some paraflin thereon. At the next f operation, this paraliin will coat the inside of the tube 14a and will greatly help in the removal of the rod made in such tube later on.

Changes and variations maybe made in the construction of the parts within the limits of the claims without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is new is: j v

1. In a machine for expelling cork rods from their tubes, releasable securing means for, the tube to be operated on; a reciprocating element adapted to pass through said tube and expel therod therein, and reversible driving means for said reciprocating element, and meansto release said tube and to remove it from the machine when the operation is lfinished.

2. In a machine for expelling cork rods from their tubes, releasable securing means for the tube to be operated on; a reciprocating element adapted to vpass through said tube and expel the rod therein Vand reversibledriving means for said reciprocating element, and means to release said tube and to remove it from the machine when the operation is iinished; a stack of tubes over the one to be operated on, and means to support said stack of tubes While the tube in operation is being removed.

3. In a machine for expelling cork rods from their tubes, releasable securing means for the tube to be operated on a reciprocating element adapted to pass through said tube and expel the rod therein and reversible driving means for said reciprocating element,said reciprocating element being in the form of a plunger and said reversible drive including a rack integral with said plunger; gears between said reversible drive and said rack; a reversible element in said drive; a sliding control bar operated by said rack in its extreme positions and having intermittently operating connections to said reversible element in the drive.

4:. In a machine for expelling cork rods from their tubes, releasable securing means for the tube to be operated on; a reciprocating element adapted to pass through said tube and expel the rodtherein and reversible driving means for said reciprocating element, said securing means comprising vertically slidablel element to operate said plates, said cani element being operated through said reciprocating element in its extreme positions.

5. In a machine for expelling cork rods from their tubes, releasable securing means for the tube to be operated on a reciprocating element adapted to pas',j ,"hrough said tube and expel the rod therein -.ind reversible .driving means for said reciprocating element, and means to release said tube and to remo've it from the machine when the operation is finished; a stack ot' tubes over the one to be operated on, and means to support said stack of tubes While the tube in operation is being removed, said support including transversal pins adapted to pass underneath said stack and to push the lowermost tube operated on from themachine, said pins being operated through said reciprocating element in its ex'- treme positions.

6. In a machine for expelling cork rods from their tubes, releasable securing means for the tube to beoperated on; a reciprocating element adapted to pass through said tube and expel the rod therein and reversible driving means for said reciprocating element, and a chamber containing molten paraffin adjacent to the farther end of the tube to be emptied and through which the expelled cork rod has to pass.

7. In a machine for expelling cork' rods from their tubes, releasable'securing means for the tube to be operated on; a reciprocating element adapted to pass through said tube and expel the rod therein and reversible driving means for said reciprocating element, and a chamber containing molten paraffin adjacent to the farther end of the' tube to be Signed at New York in the county of New York and State of New York this 16th day of March, A. D. 1928.

BERTHOLD NAGY. 

